Protect Your Loved Ones

Widespread Negligent Care at Nursing Homes Results in Unnecessary Serious Infection and Death.

Several state agencies report that negligent care of nursing home residents has lead to unnecessarily severe chronic urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers and respiratory infections some of which have resulted in death. Most of these deaths were preventable.

By law, nursing homes and long-term care facilities must provide care to maintain the highest practicable physical, mental and psychosocial well-being of each resident.

While there are many federal and state laws regulating care, there are too many heartbreaking stories citing lack of compliance in nursing homes that has resulted in illness, discomfort and death.

The Nursing Home Reform Act

The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 requires that nursing homes and long-term care facilities that receive federal funds must provide for each resident, care that promotes maintenance or enhancement of quality of life. In addition, nursing home residents have a right to "a dignified existence, self-determination, and communication with and access to persons and services inside and outside of the facility."

Many states also require nursing homes to meet state standards on the type and quality of care required for residents. Unfortunately, even with extensive regulation, a 1998 U.S. General Accounting Office report cited nearly one-third of California's nursing homes for serious or potentially life-threatening problems. There is no reason to believe that the situation in California is any different from that in other state.